67,801 Shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN Purchased by Lincoln Capital Corp

Lincoln Capital Corp purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 67,801 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock, valued at approximately $2,178,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 46.2% in the 3rd quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 13,793 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $491,000 after acquiring an additional 4,360 shares during the last quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources in the third quarter valued at $2,500,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Franklin Resources in the third quarter valued at $35,000. Oak Grove Capital LLC acquired a new position in Franklin Resources in the third quarter valued at $597,000. Finally, Mirador Capital Partners LP boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 2.2% in the third quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 29,972 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $963,000 after acquiring an additional 639 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.56% of the company’s stock.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of Franklin Resources stock traded down $0.61 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $31.20. 4,045,772 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,780,660. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $21.10 and a fifty-two week high of $36.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $33.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.54.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.76 billion. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 11.55% and a net margin of 8.72%. Franklin Resources’s quarterly revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.49 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 89.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on BEN shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods assumed coverage on Franklin Resources in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Franklin Resources from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 25th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $40.00 price target for the company. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price target on Franklin Resources from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.11.

Franklin Resources Company Profile

Franklin Resources, Inc, operating under the Franklin Templeton brand, is a global investment management organization. The company provides investment solutions for individual investors, financial professionals, institutions and retirement-plan participants through a range of actively managed and specialized strategies.

Its products and services include mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, separately managed accounts, institutional mandates and alternative investment strategies. Franklin Templeton offers capabilities spanning equities, fixed income, multi-asset investing, private markets and other specialized areas, with investment teams and brands serving different market segments and regions.

Founded in 1947 by Rupert H.